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Show StatesmanSports Page 10 Monday, April 6, 2009 Aggie baseball goes 1-2 over weekend By JARED ROMERO sports senior writer After a couple weeks of postponement games, the Utah State Aggie baseball team was finally excited to get in a weekend series for the first time in a while as they went up against the Boise State Broncos. Due to Mother Nature being unfriendly in the Logan area, the weekend series that was supposed to be played at Providence Field this past Saturday and Sunday was moved to Storey Park in Boise, Idaho. Coming into the series, the Aggies faced a must win situation as they trailed the Broncos in the Northern Pacific league standings. They kicked things off Saturday morning as they looked to make an impression right away sending out one of their aces in Ryan Doyle. The Aggies got off to a quick start as they posted up a quick run in the top of the first inning. Unfortunately, that's about all the Aggies got from their offense as they didn't hit home again until the top of the eighth inning, with the Broncos winning 5-2. Doyle pitched a solid outing as he went the complete game and only allowed one unearned. He allowed six hits and had a very impressive 12 strikeouts. He also had two hit by pitches. Doyle has struck out a total of 27 batters so far during the season with a 3.41 ERA. Brad Singer was the lone bright spot on the offensive side as he went 2-4 with a double and a RBI, as the Saturday game concluded. Sunday's double header started off very bright for the Aggies as they woke up and stole a quick one from the Broncos, winning solidly 6-2. Casey Jorgensen picked up the win, improving his record to 2-1. In the second game of the double header the Aggies looked like they had things in the bag, with their offense clicking on all cylinders, as they surmounted an impressive lead of 12-0, or so they thought. As fast as a snap of the wrist, Boise State came bucking back and rallied all the way, fighting and clawing, and eventually ending up winning in dramatic fashion 14-13. "It was definitely a shocker," said third baseman Alex Davis. Jesse Kunz picked up the loss, putting him with a record now of 1-3. Aggies look to bounce back next weekend, starting with a double header Saturday, April 11, against the University of Montana starting at noon and a morning game April 12 starting at 11 a.m. -jare.ro@aggiemail.usu.edu Michigan St. downs UConn, UNC cruises past Nova DETROIT (AP) - As his Michigan State teammates hustled downcourt, Kalin Lucas looked around at a stadium ablaze in green and white, turned on his megawatt smile and raised both his arms. No worries, he seemed to be saying, we've got you. Carrying an entire state knocked down by the economic crisis is a lot to ask of a group of college kids, but the Spartans are proving they're more than up to the task. "It means so much, so much," said Magic Johnson, who sat just a few rows behind the Michigan State bench Saturday night. "It's been all bad news the last couple of years." It's nothing but good news now. Lucas scored 21 points, Raymar Morgan broke out of his late-season slump with 18 and nine rebounds, and the smaller Spartans ran roughshod over Hasheem Thabeet and Connecticut in an 82-73 upset in the Final Four on Saturday night. The Spartans (31-6) now will play North Carolina for the NCAA title Monday night, giving the city and state at least two more days to forget all the bad news and revel in their Spartans' success. It's Michigan State's first appearance in the title game since 2000, when the Spartans won their second title. "One thing we talked about is bringing hope to the city for a whole weekend," said Travis Walton, who dished out eight assists. "People forgetting about their problems, forgetting about what they're going through, just focusing on us and focusing on Michigan State. UNC 83, Villanova 69 Men vs. boys. Big brother vs. little brother. Future pros against a bunch of good college kids. That summed up North Carolina's 83-69 victory over Villanova on Saturday night. The ultra-talented Tar Heels simply never gave the Wildcats a chance to breathe, let alone whip up a fresh dose of Final Four magic. Ty Lawson scored 22 points, Wayne Ellington had 20 more and the Tar Heels, with their four, five, maybe more NBA-caliber players, stayed on a path that has seemed almost certain since the season began in November. Tyler Hansbrough had 18 points and 11 rebounds to make this a quite successful return to the Final Four after a remarkable dud last year in a semifinal loss to Kansas. Next up, North Carolina (33-4) goes for its second title in five years Monday against Michigan State, an 82-73 winner over Connecticut. "It feels good to be back here to get another shot," Carolina forward Deon Thompson said. "Now that we have an opportunity, we have to seize it." The Spartans, located 90 miles up the road in East Lansing, will certainly have the crowd on their side. The talent gap, though? Eek. They'll have to be at least 35 points better than they were in December when the teams met in this same building - a 98-63 UNC romp. "They had a couple players that were hurt and came offa long road stretch," Lawson said. "We know they're a better team right now." North Carolina simply had too much talent. M I C H I G A N STATE'S DURRELL SUMMERS, 15, dunks the ball over Connecticut's Stanley Robinson, 21, during a men's NCAA Final Four semifinal college basketball game. AP photo Go to www.usu.edu/asusu for a full list of events. Its a week of service! Come participate and help with some of the following events: Blood Battle against Weber State University • Orphanage Service Project •4 Square W/ Buddies • Random Acts of Kindness • Sewing Service Project • KickballontheQuad • Sorting Party • Aggie Locks UtahStatell n i ve rsity VAL R. CHRISTENSEN SERVICE CENTER For Updates About Activities Text Eweek to 62898. |